The Death Star may not replace the Epcot sphere and Ewoks probably won’t fill in for Snow White’s dwarfs, but you better believe there will soon be new out-of-this-world attractions at Walt Disney World.

By By LINDELL KAY Daily News Staff

Published: Sunday, November 4, 2012 at 05:53 PM.

The Death Star may not replace the Epcot sphere and Ewoks probably won’t fill in for Snow White’s dwarfs, but you better believe there will soon be new out-of-this-world attractions at Walt Disney World.

When my oldest son told me last week he had just read on the web that Disney bought the Star Wars franchise, the first thing I did was check to see if it wasn’t a big hoax.

After reading two news reports and watching a YouTube video with George Lucas himself talking about his $4 billion deal with Disney, I had no choice but believe the unbelievable.

It all still seems unlikely since Lucas has always been a Hollywood maverick. He made the original “Star Wars” film on his own in the late 1970s, and turned down industry funding to make 1999’s “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” the biggest budget independent film of all time. In short, Lucas has always done it his way.

So it’s no surprise a lot of people are skeptical as to why Lucas would seemingly suddenly sell his creative baby to Disney, a company many see as a soulless corporate empire of the entertainment galaxy.

Folks didn’t have much time to ponder that question before a huge announcement even more shocking than Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm was made: A seventh Star Wars movie has been slated for 2015. Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger also announced “Star Wars: Episode VII” will be followed by Episodes VIII and IX, with the aim of a new Star Wars film every two to three years.

The Death Star may not replace the Epcot sphere and Ewoks probably won’t fill in for Snow White’s dwarfs, but you better believe there will soon be new out-of-this-world attractions at Walt Disney World.

When my oldest son told me last week he had just read on the web that Disney bought the Star Wars franchise, the first thing I did was check to see if it wasn’t a big hoax.

After reading two news reports and watching a YouTube video with George Lucas himself talking about his $4 billion deal with Disney, I had no choice but believe the unbelievable.

It all still seems unlikely since Lucas has always been a Hollywood maverick. He made the original “Star Wars” film on his own in the late 1970s, and turned down industry funding to make 1999’s “Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace,” the biggest budget independent film of all time. In short, Lucas has always done it his way.

So it’s no surprise a lot of people are skeptical as to why Lucas would seemingly suddenly sell his creative baby to Disney, a company many see as a soulless corporate empire of the entertainment galaxy.

Folks didn’t have much time to ponder that question before a huge announcement even more shocking than Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm was made: A seventh Star Wars movie has been slated for 2015. Disney chairman and CEO Bob Iger also announced “Star Wars: Episode VII” will be followed by Episodes VIII and IX, with the aim of a new Star Wars film every two to three years.

Then Disney let it all hang out with news Star Wars cartoons could be expected for its kid’s cable channel Disney XD and began to hint at a live-action television show.

For those who remain skeptical, I have one word to offer: Marvel.

For decades, Marvel produced the most dynamic characters ever seen in comic books, but couldn’t make the leap to the silver screen. Its only feature film until the late 1990s was “Howard the Duck” in 1986. It took Wesley Snipes’ “Blade” in 1998 to make movie studios to realize Marvel could make it at the theater. Within a few years Fox was flush with X-Men movies and Sony was swinging with Spider-Man.

Marvel Studios — which was bankrupt just a few years prior — got its act together and began making its own movies, beginning with 2008’s “Iron Man.” Disney took note and purchased the company in 2009. With Disney’s backing, Marvel entered a golden age which spun high-rated Spider-Man, Hulk and Avengers cartoons and gave us the third highest grossing movie of all time: 2012’s “The Avengers.”

See where I’m going?

“Star Wars” was great, but just like Marvel, the franchise was king of its corner. Disney will open up the entire sandbox for playtime.

As far as the original question as to why Lucas would give up his prized creation after guarding it so closely his entire adult life, I think he answered it in a Disney press release.

“I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime,” he said.

The maverick is getting old. Apparently, faced with his own mortality, Lucas, 68, wanted to turn over his creation to a company he trusted to carry on the sci-fi saga. And the sale wasn’t as sudden as it seemed. Disney said they have been in negotiations with Lucas for a year-and-a-half.

I’m excited about the possibilities. And if stories set in a galaxy far, far away ain’t your cup of tea, the deal also includes Indiana Jones.

Contact Daily News Senior Reporter Lindell Kay at 910-219-8455 or lindell.kay@jdnews.com. Follow him on Twitter and friend him on Facebook @ 1lindell.